The network says its Clinton miniseries will run four hours, and that the wife of former President Bill Clinton will be played by Diane Lane, whose most recent appearances include roles in "Man of Steel" and "Secretariat."

The series will begin in 1998, says Time's James Poniewozik, putting President Clinton's impeachment trial and the Monica Lewinsky scandal within the bounds of the program's planned timeline. But because the series is still in development, it's hard to know precisely which topics will be highlighted, and to what degree.

However, given that the series will air on network television -- perhaps at a crucial time in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election -- Poniewozik guesses that the series will play it safe for the most part, perhaps to a fault. "If I had to guess, I’d bet that any broadcast-network drama about a current viable politician will end up even-handed to the point of blandness," Poniewozik says.